Alternative Realities: Utopian Thought in Times of Political Rupture

A two-day conference organized by The Wende Museum, USC’s Max Kade Institute for Austrian-German-Swiss Studies, the Center for Cultural Studies at UC Santa Cruz, and the Centre for Contemporary History (ZZF), Potsdam

Modern history has been marked by periodic ruptures, radical changes brought on by wars, revolutionary upheaval, or sudden political shifts that shattered existing social and political structures and belief systems. No country has experienced this more profoundly than Germany, which has witnessed five regimes across the past 100 years and experienced both the heights of national euphoria and the depths of physical and moral defeat and destruction in the twentieth century. During times of fundamental change, cultural ideas and expressions pave the way for the imagination of a new order. This conference focuses on the key role of utopian visions, both artistic and intellectual, that changed the world from the twentieth century to the present day.

The Wende Museum provides access to digital materials for purposes of education and research. It is the sole responsibility of the user to obtain any legal permission necessary for reuse. Click here for more information.